Houston News

Growing Up Takes Longer Than You Think

If you have a kid in their early 20’s that you complain about being immature there might be a scientific reason for that. But it’s a reason that has some doctors scratching their heads in disbelief.

Child psychologists in England are now being told that kids between 18 and 25 years old are still considered adolescents. It's something that psychologist Lawrence Abrams told KTRH he wouldn't necessarily agree with.

“We call that maturity or experience. That’s the word I would use. I don’t know that you redefine what adolescence is,” Abrams told KTRH.

The researchers say the brain is still developing at that age, but Abrams says there’s no need to re-classify what adolescence is.

“There’s certainly still a great deal of mental development going on at that age. But whether they are adolescents or young adults? I don’t think it makes a bit of difference,” Abrams explained.

But there are plenty of parents who agree with the new classification, like this man, who has a 20 year old living at home.

“My 20-year old is still an adolescent. There’s still an innocence about her that shines through with any decision that she makes. She comes to her parents for advice, for support and for money. I don’t see that ending anytime soon,” the parent said.

So the new breakdown is this. Kids between the ages of 12 and14 are now considered early adolescents. Middle adolescence is from 15-17 years old and late adolescence from 18 to 25.